


Portal to Hell

by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz, IncendiaGlacies



Series: Legends of S.H.I.E.L.D [5]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. AU, Backstory, Calvert - Freeform, Episode: s01e09 Repairs, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 17:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14141082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/pseuds/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz, https://archiveofourown.org/users/IncendiaGlacies/pseuds/IncendiaGlacies
Summary: “Well that’s strange,” she murmured to herself. It almost looked like a tear in the fabric of reality. “It looks like a portal, to another world? I can’t tell where it leads to.”“Hell.”A new mission dredges up Rip's memories of the mission that pushed him out of the field.





	Portal to Hell

**Author's Note:**

> All flashbacks are denoted with '7 years ago' so it does switch back and forth.
> 
> There is some talk of religion and science, which I sincerely hope does not offend anyone.

“I thought telekinetics didn’t exist?” Zee asked.

“Well she’s not verified yet. That’s why we’re going in, to conduct an index asset evaluation and intake on Ms. Snow and see if she’s a true powered person. There aren’t too many, so SHIELD likes to keep track of them,” Gideon said.

“Index them?” Zee asked, “So we talk to them basically?”

“Pretty much.”

“Okay, but the whole index asset…” Zee trailed off not even being able to remember all of it, “It needs a new name.”

“I know, it’s a very long and boring name. I prefer to think of ourselves as the welcome wagon,” Gideon grinned at her. She handed Zee some files, “Read up on the situation would you? I want you to pay particularly close attention to this one and our procedures. See what happens when it’s done right.”

Zee glanced over the files which basically what Gideon had gone over in the briefing. Caitlin Snow, a quality-control engineer, was being held responsible for a particle accelerator explosion. “Salvation is such a small town, they all must blame her. And with everything she’s going through given her new powers,” Zee said sadly, “What do we say when we get there?”

“Every case is different, sometimes they’re in denial and sometimes they can’t wait to be superheroes – like your friend Renee. This is a delicate situation. So I’m only taking Rip and Nathaniel with me on this one,” Gideon said as they approached the lab area where the rest of the team were.

“You just said you wanted me to pay close attention,” Zee said.

“Yes, I do. Just from afar.”

“Pay close attention from afar,” Zee repeated sarcastically.

“Yes, exactly!” Gideon smiled widely. She turned to the sunshine twins, “Raymond, Lilian, what have you got for me?”

“Well unfortunately the department of energy declared the lab too dangerous to enter,” Ray started.

“But we think we can retrieve the disaster-event data from the instruments,” Lily continued excitedly, “Then we can determine if there’s any correlation or direct causation between the telekinesis spontaneously manifesting and the particle accelerator exploding!”

“Well it does use giant magnets to fire billions of subatomic particles into their anti-particles at the speed of light to create miniature big bangs,” Rip spoke up nonchalantly as he leaned against the lab window, “So it seems like it would be a good place to start.” Nate gave him a strange look from beside him, as did just about everyone else on the team. “What?” Rip asked.

“Oh you do listen to me when I tell you things!” Gideon beamed at him.

Rip gave her a small smile and walked by her, placing a hand on her shoulder to give her an ETA, “Wheels up in five, strap in.”

“Don’t know why you’re bringing Mr. Cuddles along if it’s such a delicate situation,” Zee rolled her eyes as she watched Rip walk away. It seemed like the only person he could find it in himself to be nice to, was Gideon.

Gideon gave her a warning glare, “Strap in like the Captain says. I don’t want any trouble while we’re gone. Ray and Lily, keep working on what you can get your hands on. And remember don’t-”

“Don’t touch Lola,” they all chorused.

“Exactly.”

* * *

 

“You worried?” Gideon asked Rip quietly as the two of them trailed behind Nate. Rip gave her a longsuffering look but didn’t answer. She touched his hand lightly, “For the record, I’m glad you’re here. There’s no one else I’d want watching my back, you know that.”

“Let’s just get this over with, shall we?” Rip said instead. Gideon’s face dropped but she nodded. When they got to the house, it seemed like the entire town was there, yelling at the young woman cowering by the door.

Nate looked at the officers and then to the scared woman, “Hey, can’t you make them stop? She’s terrified of them.”

“Can’t,” the officer shrugged, “It’s a free country.” Nate sighed and glared at the man.

Gideon moved forward, trying to keep her voice soft and calm. One of the first things Rip had taught her was that she was small and unassuming, and how to use that to her advantage. “Ms. Snow? My name is Gideon, I understand some strange things have been happening to you lately and we’re here to help.”

“No,” Caitlin shook her head and continued crying, “Please, I don’t want to hurt these people. I swear I don’t.”

“You can’t control your powers?” Gideon asked softly.

“No, no that’s not what it is,” Caitlin shook her head. Before Gideon could ask more questions one of the members of the crowd got particularly angry and threw something at them. “Oh no, oh no, it’s happening again. I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Caitlin broke down. Gideon watched as the police car started moving forward, just barely missing the crowd of people.

“Officer, move those people!” Nate ordered.

Gideon focused her attentions on Caitlin, “It’s okay, it’s alright. Just calm down.”

“It wasn’t me,” Caitlin shook her head, “Just leave me alone, please!” Gideon’s eyes widened as she saw the woman going into a panic attack, she knew how it looked and felt. She had far too many of them after New York. It was why Waller had insisted she take time off in Aruba, the magical place.

“Ms. Snow, please-” Gideon cut herself off when something blue hit the other woman and she collapsed unconscious. Gideon looked back and saw Rip holding a gun, staring at the situation.

“Time to go,” he said.

Gideon huffed and threw her hands up, “Well, so much for the welcome wagon!”

* * *

 

_7 years ago_

“So, are you jealous?” Gideon teased.

“Why would I be jealous?” Rip arched an eyebrow.

“That I get to take point on this mission.”

“Oh why, because you’re five foot and haven’t had combat practice against me in what, three weeks now, but still somehow got assigned this mission?” Rip asked.

“Five foot three, I’ll have you know,” Gideon glared at him, “And you’re the one that cancelled on me. For your family planning.”

Rip rolled his eyes and ignored the saucy look Gideon sent him. “You’re incorrigible,” he shook his head at her, “And no I’m not jealous, more like incredibly proud. My most favourite protégé is running point on the mission. The student has become the master now.” Gideon sent him a soft look and Rip continued, “Of course, you didn’t have to be at my house so early – my personal time is my personal time.”

“Your Miranda time, you mean,” Gideon giggled, “Besides, if I’m not early then I get a ten minute lecture from you about propriety. You taught me well, but you’re also a bit of a time master.” They entered the plane and put their possessions down, gearing up for their mission. “Has Waller told you about the new initiative? Taking powered people and making them earth’s mightiest heroes?” Gideon whispered to him.

“Waller happens to have been my SO, of course she told me,” Rip said, “I’m a little offended that she talks to you as much as she does though.”

“Well she did recruit me, and I think she likes me. After all, paired me off with you,” Gideon poked his arm. Or tried to, Rip was too quick for her and grabbed her hand with a sharp look. Gideon sighed, “Alright, fine. We’ll do early morning training this week. But are you interested? – I just mean with the whole family planning thing you have going on-”

“I am staying in the field,” Rip said decisively.

“Ah, of course, let Miranda do all the work,” Gideon nodded.

“You’re unbelievable,” Rip sighed, “And I believe they’re waiting on you for the speech, Agent Rider.”

Gideon blushed and headed to the front of the room, it was her first time running point and she wanted it to go well. She pulled up the slides and addressed the other agents, “Meet Jonah Hex, 42, index candidate.” She took a deep breath and saw Rip nod encouragingly, “We believe Hex possesses enhanced strength. He’s currently on the run from authorities and this,” she switched the slide to show a crumpled car, “Is what happened when they tried to arrest him. I don’t know about you, but that looks pretty strong to me.” Somewhere in the back, Gideon could see a smile on Rip’s face.

“We’re going to bring him in for an evaluation, keep it friendly. This will be public so we don’t want any unwanted press. We don’t want to spook him. This is our only window.”

“And if he doesn’t respond to a friendly chat?” Rip asked the obvious question.

“Then I call in the Cavalry,” Gideon shrugged. The plane touched down and she smiled, “Welcome to Calvert.”

* * *

 

“It’s a six hour ride to the fridge, you sure the cage will hold her?” Nate shot a wary look at the interrogation room where Caitlin was currently being kept.

“I had Ray and Lily add magnetic shielding to it. It should help dampen her powers. But I doubt it will be comfortable,” Gideon sighed and crossed her arms. She turned to Rip, “She’ll wake up soon, and she’s going to be scared and alone. She’s had an entire town turn against her, she has no reason to trust us, which is why it’s so crucial she does.”

“I can go in and talk to her,” Zee offered, “I mean I know how it feels like to be taken in by SHIELD. I can offer a perspective.”

“And that’s generous of you, but I want Rip in there with me,” Gideon said.

“Are you sure?” Rip asked softly.

“Caitlin is a woman of science from what I can tell of her files,” Gideon said, “She needs reason and she needs the truth, to know we’re not hiding anything, not some sugar coated speech right now. Which is why you need to talk to her.”

“And if she loses control?” Nate asked, “You saw what happened out there, it could get dangerous.”

“Then she’ll definitely want me in there,” Rip nodded at Gideon. He had always protected her before.

“Nathaniel, observe from out here,” Gideon ordered, “And Rip, you might want to lose the tie. I mean, if she is a telekinetic, I don’t want a noose around your neck.” Gideon waited until he dropped his tie on the table, “Shall we then?” Rip held out a hand for Gideon to lead the way to the cage in the back.

“Hello there,” Gideon greeted as they opened the door and saw Caitlin waking up slowly. “I’m really sorry for sedating you like that, but things weren’t going too well. It was safer for everyone involved. Here, I brought you some water.” She handed the bottle over to the other woman, “I’m Gideon and this is my friend Rip.”

Caitlin took a sip of the water, her voice cracked, “Everyone’s safe?”

“They’re all perfectly fine, I promise,” Gideon said.

“I didn’t hurt anyone?”

“No, not this time,” Gideon said.

“Oh thank goodness,” Caitlin sighed. She wiped away a tear, “It’s like everywhere I go, bad things happen, and I can’t control it.”

“Were you angry at the crowd?” Rip asked.

“I have no right to be angry at them, I deserved all of it,” Caitlin shook her head, “It was my job to make sure the particle accelerator worked fine. That it was safe, and instead they died. They were my friends too, and their families. They have every right to hate me.”

“Why don’t you tell us a little about the explosion?” Gideon asked.

Caitlin nodded, “We had been getting reports for a few weeks, about the coupling assembly. Apparently the bolts were coming loose. And Ronnie…”

“Who’s Ronnie?” Rip prompted when Caitlin trailed off.

“Ronnie Raymond. He was the technician down there. He was always nice to me, always talking to me, made me laugh,” Caitlin smiled as she remembered. She took a deep breath and continued, “He died that day too. We replaced the part, triple checked it.”

“Was there a problem with the part?” Gideon asked, trying to figure out a way for the sunshine twins to narrow their search.

Caitlin shook her head, “No, but clearly I missed something. This – all this, the pain and devastation, it’s my fault.”

Gideon shared another look with Rip, the man that always seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. He nodded at her and Gideon cleared her throat, looking back at Caitlin. “Ms. Snow, my team has reason to believe that due to the accident, you may have developed some sort of telekinetic abilities.”

“You’re wrong,” Caitlin shook her head.

“Ms. Snow-”

“Do you think I didn’t notice the strange things happening around me? The gas station, the police car?” Caitlin asked, “It’s been happening for a while, and I’m a scientist first, I like to get to the bottom of things. But from the data that I’ve gathered, it’s not me. And – I almost wish it were me, because then I’d be able to control it. I could stop it.”

“If it’s not you, then what is it?” Rip asked.

“It’s insane. And you’re not going to believe it, I hardly believe it,” Caitlin said.

“Try me.”

“Demons,” Caitlin responded bluntly, “I’m being haunted by demons.”

* * *

 

“And the particle accelerator data is finished loading,” Lily said excitedly.

“Hey, remember our plans for building this back at the academy?” Ray asked.

“Of course. But our plans were on a much smaller scale, which was the beauty of it-”

“There was never enough room to expand there, we needed to make it compact. Oh this is going to be so awesome-”

“Hey, sunshine twins! People died, remember?” Zee snapped. The two looked suitably chastised and she continued, huffing, “What is taking them so long in there?”

“Well the readings we’re getting say she’s perfectly normal, a bit sad but normal,” Ray frowned, “Well that’s not helpful. And pretty boring.”

“Really? You two needed a computer to tell you that? Forget that she’s basically being blamed for everything that’s gone wrong, and having weird powers – she’s in there with the guy that shot her.”

“Technically speaking, Rip only sedated her,” Ray pointed out.

“That’s why he’s here,” Lily shrugged, “He’s the Cavalry after all.”

“Yeah, how’d he get that nickname anyways?” Zee frowned. Of course she had seen the man take out full on kill squads and mercenaries, but everyone called him that.

Ray and Lily shared a look before walking closer to her. “Well you see, our story begins in Calvert,” Ray started, “Small town, mostly off the grid.”

“SHIELD agents were taken hostage, and it was Rip’s job to eliminate the threat, if you will,” Lily continued.

“Mercenaries – like hundreds of them,” Ray nodded with wide eyes.

“Yes, a lot and a lot of mercenaries,” Lily agreed, “And-and he rode in on a horse!”

“With – with an M249 in each hand!” Ray added.

Zee stared at the two blankly, “Are you two messing with me?”

“Yes.” The trio looked back to see Nate standing at the doorway. “I wanted to see how it was going, stop messing with her!”

“You ruin all our fun,” Lily sighed, “We never got to pull pranks back at the academy.”

“Ray’s face sorta gave it away anyways,” Zee shrugged.

“I never was good at lying,” Ray said quietly. Lily patted his back and they headed to the holotable. Zee reached out to touch one of the holograms when Ray slapped her hand, “No! You need proper training to use this! Only me, Lily, and Gideon are qualified. You need at least two semesters of holographic engineering design and not to mention the extra hours put into-”

“Alright, calm down – I won’t touch!” Zee said. She turned to Nate, “Alright, so what really happened? Why’s he called the Cavalry?”

“Well for starters, it wasn’t hundreds of mercenaries,” Nate gave the sunshine twins a strong look, “It was like twenty of them. Trained assassins, and just as dangerous. Rip took care of it, one pistol and no help. Why do you think he’s so possessive of his guns?”

“So no horse?” Zee asked.

“Definitely no horse.”

“I liked the horse,” Ray muttered quietly.

Zee spared him a look before going back to Nate, “Alright, but he saved people – agents. Why does he not like the name if he did something good? And he never talks about it – or anything at all really.”

“Rip’s just Rip,” Nate shrugged, “Hunter’s always been kind of a private person. He’s a specialist, you do the job, and end of story.”

* * *

 

Lily analyzed the holographic picture in front of her some more once everyone had left her on her own. “Well that’s strange,” she murmured to herself. It almost looked like a tear in the fabric of reality. “It looks like a portal, to another world? I can’t tell where it leads to.”

“Hell.”

Lily’s eyes widened at the unknown voice behind her, a man in black and a burnt face lunged forward towards her. Lily screamed and darted out of the way, throwing one of Ray’s calculators at him. He growled some more and ran towards her, one of the scales flying off the counter as he did so. It seemed Caitlin was right, she was being haunted. Lily stayed on the floor, whimpering and wishing she wasn’t alone when suddenly the man disappeared into thin air.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Lily panicked as she scrambled up running through the plane trying to find Gideon. Finally she caught up to their fearless leader. “She was telling the truth,” Lily panted to Gideon without introduction, “This man, he’s real and I don’t know – haunting her! And he’s on the plane.”

Before Gideon could respond, the lights went off and they were plunged into darkness. “Well I’m willing to bet our mystery man also just cut our power off. You’ll want to strap in. Rip!” she yelled, “Get us on the ground, safely!”

“How do you know he heard you?” Lily worried.

“Oh, he heard me. Now come on, Lilian, strap in,” Gideon ordered. The two held on as the plane hit the ground roughly, shaking and rattling all around them. “Admittedly, not one of his better landings. But I’m assuming we all made it out alive.” She unbuckled herself and grabbed Lily, “Come on. We need an emergency team meeting. Now.”

Minutes later they were all surrounding the debriefing table waiting for Gideon’s update. “So as you can see, the plane is not working and we crashed – or rather landed roughly.”

“Because of Caitlin’s telekinesis?” Nate frowned.

“Not quite,” Gideon looked over at Lily, “We have reason to believe Ms. Snow was telling the truth, she’s being haunted.”

“I saw a ghost,” Lily said bluntly.

“Lily, you don’t believe in ghosts,” Ray reminded her, “We’re people of science and the idea that-”

“I know how it sounds! But I also know what I saw, Ray,” Lily said, “He literally just vanished in thin air. Dematerialized like he had no matter whatsoever. Ghost!”

“Well if it’s not Caitlin’s fault, can we let her out of the cage then?” Zee asked.

Gideon shook her head, “I’m afraid not. Caitlin said she was being haunted, we can only assume this means that this specter or ghost or whatever you want to call it, he’s after her. And right now, the cage is probably the safest place for her. Rip, is it still protected?”

“Most of the power is being diverted there,” Rip nodded.

“Right, so priorities,” Gideon clapped her hands. She took a calming breath, her hand over her heart, almost feeling the scar tissue on it. “Nathaniel, I need you to take the sunshine twins and assess the damage. Get us up and running and Nate, take care of them.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nate nodded.

“Take a gun with you. You don’t want to be caught unarmed,” Rip warned. Nate nodded and led the twins out of the room.

“And there’s an emergency receiver upstairs, I suppose I can try that and see if I can radio HQ – let them know we are in quite a lot of trouble,” Gideon said.

“Wait,” Zee stopped her, “Caitlin deserves to know what’s going on. Look, let me talk to her – tell her she’s not crazy and that it’s not her fault. I think she could use a friend right now.”

“Alright, just don’t go in. We need to keep her where she is, Zee,” Gideon agreed, “And be safe.”

* * *

 

_7 years ago_

Gideon shook her head as she watched Rip smile over a little boy running around, playing tag with the adults, touching all of their arms as he ran past. “You always go so soft around kids,” she teased, “You’re going to be a good father one day.”

“Hope so,” Rip said somewhat embarrassed. He turned back to survey the area properly, his job was to ensure Gideon’s safety when she went in. Then he saw their man sitting at one of the outdoor tables. “Looks like our target is here, you ready?”

“Suppose I better get this over with,” Gideon sighed.

“You’ll be wonderful, you learned from the best,” Rip winked at her with a hand on her arm, “Stay safe.”

“That’s what I have you for,” Gideon quipped. She saw his serious face and nodded, “I will Rip, promise.” Rip let go of her and watched her approach Jonah Hex. “Mr. Hex?” Gideon greeted, “Hello, my name is Gideon, would you mind if I sit?” He didn’t respond so Gideon took a seat, keeping her smile on her face. Rip had once told her that her smile and eyes could charm anyone into doing anything, she planned on making the most of it. “My team, we specialize in helping people like you, people with gifts.”

“And what makes you think I want your help?” Hex responded gruffly.

“Well for starters I know you’re on the run from the authorities, SHIELD can help with that. Protect you, hide you if necessary. We’re simply here to help, think of us like…the welcome wagon,” Gideon said.

“Gideon, you’ve got blue shirts on your tail, local officers, they’re catching on,” Rip warned in her comms.

“Why don’t we go somewhere more private?” Gideon lowered her voice to Hex.

The man smiled and leaned in far too closely, “You know what, sweetheart, I rather like it here.”

Gideon scoffed, “Do not call me sweetheart.”

“Watch yourself,” Rip whispered in her ear, “Probably best not to piss him off, I want you safe.”

Gideon took a calming breath taking a look around her properly. There were men surrounding the area, clearly waiting for something. “This was a setup,” she realized.

“Something like that,” Jonah pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at her. Gideon could hear the cursed ‘bollocks’ Rip gave in her ear. Jonah continued, “Now, I don’t want any trouble, I just want to be left alone.”

Gideon raised her hands in surrender and looked at her own team. Hex’s men had them surrounded, “Listen, we can help you. So how about we just go somewhere a little calmer and-” Jonah fired the gun, just barely missing her. “Alright, what is it that you want?”

He smiled dangerously, “Pain.”

From behind her, Gideon heard one of her team members start screaming. She watched horrified and turned back to him, “Stop, just stop. Put the gun down and we can talk.”

“No,” he reached out just as the little boy from earlier was running through. Jonah grabbed his hand and used the child as a shield, his gun cocked to the boy’s head.

“Let the boy go,” Gideon demanded, “Just let him go. Let my team go, we can walk away from this. I’ll come with you.”

Jonah fired another warning shot at her, and it took all of Gideon’s training not to flinch as badly as she wanted to. Rip had taught her well in that area. Her team however, wasn’t so lucky, Gideon watched as Hex’s men took her team back into the building behind them.

“Don’t follow us!” Jonah growled at her. He took the boy with him and disappeared into the building as well.

* * *

 

Rip stopped behind the wall when he heard the two women talking. “Do you believe in God?” Caitlin asked through the wall, “Or some sort of higher power?”

“I do,” Zee said as she leaned against the wall, “My faith might not be well received all the time, but I do believe.”

“Well I don’t, or I didn’t,” Caitlin said, “I was a woman of science. All that stuff about hell, and being punished, I just couldn’t imagine there was some being whose sole purpose was to punish you. But now, with everything happening, I’m not so sure anymore.”

“I don’t know, I never believed that part of it,” Zee admitted. “Growing up an orphan, always being moved from place to place, I think it was easier to have faith. I think it’s actually why I practice my religion, things like Ramadan, makes me feel connected to something bigger. Like I fit in.”

“That must be nice,” Caitlin said.

“Yeah, it is,” Zee played with her necklace, “I think that if there is a God, that’s what he’s there for. To bring us all together. And you do that with love, not hate or anger. And if that’s true, then he wouldn’t punish you for a mistake. I have to believe that my God is forgiving enough, and I think more people should as well.”

“If there is a God, I hope so too,” Caitlin said.

Rip decided he had heard enough and pushed off the wall, “Gideon needs your help with the emergency transceiver. I’ll stand guard.”

“I think it would be better if I stayed-”

“That wasn’t a request, it was an order,” Rip said, “It needs to get done and you’re the only one that can right now.”

“Yes Sir. I’ll be back soon,” she promised Caitlin. She glared at Rip as she walked by him, “Maybe try acting like a human for a few minutes? See how that works out.”

Zee huffed and grumbled all the way to Gideon’s office. The woman was sitting on the desk surrounded by a bunch of wires and frowning at the box. She looked up when Zee entered, “Oh good you’re here. Was hoping you could help me with this, admittedly it’s been a while since I’ve gotten to work tech. Been mostly field lately.”

“Looks like a hardware issue,” Zee commented. Through the walls they heard a scream suddenly. “Caitlin, I should be with her.”

“Rip’s got it handled, I’m sure,” Gideon dismissed.

“Yeah, well maybe that’s why she keeps screaming. Because you keep sending the Cavalry after her.”

“Don’t call him that,” Gideon snapped.

“Look, I get that he earned it shooting off a hundred-”

“That’s not what happened,” Gideon shook her head.

“Alright twenty-”

“He didn’t have a gun. None of us did,” Gideon cut her off again.

“You were there,” Zee realized.

Gideon sighed and moved around the table, playing with the wires. “It was my first time running point on an operation. It wasn’t an assault or a rescue or whatever they say at the Academy these days – it was the welcome wagon. And it went horribly.”

“You blame yourself,” Zee stared at her.

Gideon looked at her for a moment, “A little boy and part of our team got stuck inside a building, by the followers of a gifted individual – or perhaps worshippers – I don’t know. I never found out what exactly happened in that building.”

“Rip happened.”

Gideon nodded, “He was my SO, did you know that? Rip taught me everything I know about combat, and how to take down a mark. He was tough, but he believed in me, and is always so protective of me. And when they got stuck in the building and backup wasn’t coming, I agreed to let him go in. I knew he could do it, so I agreed to it. It was my call and I wonder everyday if I made the right one.”

“What did he do?” Zee asked quietly.

“All I know is Rip took out the enemy force, I have no idea how, but he got our team back. After that day, he was never the same,” Gideon looked down sadly, “He used to be different, you know? Used to pull a lot of pranks – we made quite the team. Laughed at my jokes unlike you lot, sometimes even made worse ones. And he hated the rules, always took it upon himself to see how far he could bend them, stretch the truth a little further. Remind you of anyone?”

Zee looked down but didn’t comment on it. Gideon continued, “And then he walked out of that building, and it was like everything that made Rip, him…it was gone. Like he was just a shell. And I tried my best to be there for him, like he always had for me, to comfort him. But he wouldn’t tell me what happened.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him what I thought he needed to hear,” Gideon said, “There are no right words in that type of situation no matter how hard you try.”

“That’s why you asked him to fly the Waverider,” Zee realized.

“I messed up, and I will take whatever chance I have to make it right-” Gideon cut herself off when the door slammed. She ushered Zee away from the door and went to check it. “It’s jammed,” she reported.

Suddenly Zee screamed and Gideon turned back to see their ghost with his arms around her. “Let me in, or let her out,” he demanded.

“That isn’t up to us,” Gideon raised her hands, “Please let my friend go.”

“Let her out!” he screamed at them.

* * *

 

_7 years ago_

“We need backup ten minutes ago,” Gideon yelled into the phone, “Our entire tactical team in there – I – no, there are agents inside – there’s no time to wait – yes. Yes, Sir,” Gideon hung up and sighed. “Stupid red tape, they want us to wait.” She looked at the building and then back at Rip, “This is my fault. This was my op and I messed up-”

“You are not the one that took our team hostage,” Rip told her, his hands on her arms to keep her calm. “Look, send me in. I can get them out and fix the problem. Gideon, if people are going to die, send me in. I can do this, you know I can.”

“Yes, but protocol dictates we have to wait. SHIELD isn’t authorized for action yet and,” Gideon stopped when she heard sirens in the distance. Whatever time they had would soon be up, Rip gave her a look. She nodded, “Alright, go. I’ll stall. But Rip? Be safe.”

“Always, you too,” Rip nodded and headed to the building. He stopped just before entering and pulled out his cellphone to make a call.

“Rip?” Miranda asked as she picked up, “What’s wrong?”

“We’re doing something a bit off the books, there’s a hostage situation. Our team, and a little boy,” Rip said.

“You’re going alone?”

“I have to. I can’t just stand here and do nothing,” Rip said.

“No, of course you can’t,” Miranda agreed, “Alright, you’ve done this before, you will be fine. Just be safe – and Rip? The little boy will be scared, get down on his level, ask his name. Make it personal. And save them. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Miranda hung up and Rip made his way into the building. “Gideon? Can you hear me? Do you copy?” Rip only heard static in his ear. “Bollocks.” Out of nowhere one of Hex’s main jumped out. Rip made quick work of him, an elbow to the stomach and a hit to the head and the man was down. The next three weren’t as easy, but he made it past them too.

“Green!” he yelled when he recognized his own man, “Agent Green, where are the others? We have to go, now.”

“I want your pain,” Green responded.

Rip took in the state of the man, almost zombified, “What’s wrong with you? Agent Green, I need you to snap out of it. Now!”

“I need your pain,” Green took a step forward.

“Oh Gary, I am so sorry about this,” Rip grabbed a spare wooden plank and hit him over the head. “He’s controlling all of you. I need to take him out at the source.” Rip made his way to the center of the building where he saw Hex standing.

“I’ve had their pain, now I want yours,” Jonah greeted him.

“You’re not getting anything from me,” Rip said. He grabbed one of the floor lamps standing around and tried to hit Hex with it. But the man dodged it easily, blocking his blows, throwing Rip back. He gasped on the floor and saw the little boy hiding under the table. “Hi,” Rip said softly, “Stay back, okay? What’s your name?”

“Jonas,” the little boy whispered.

“Alright Jonas, my name is Rip. I’ll get you out of here, okay? Just stay there.” Rip looked up and saw his former teammates beginning to enter the room, circling closer like hawks on their prey. “Come on then,” he got up again ready to take on Hex again. While he always preferred a gun, he was rather skilled in hand-to-hand combat. And apparently, so was Hex. Rip took a few punches to the face, and then a stab to his thigh. That brought him down, quickly.

“I want your pain,” Hex continued.

“Oh, I’ll give you pain,” Rip waited until he got close enough before taking the broken lamp rod and skewering the other man with it. Hex fell, but the others continued to circle him. “What’s wrong with all of you? He’s dead, snap out of it now!”

“I like the pain,” Jonas’ voice floated towards him. Rip’s eyes widened as the boy walked towards him. It made sense now. It wasn’t Hex after all, it was the child. The game of tag, running around and touching his agents, that’s what had done this. “No, no,” Rip shook his head. He couldn’t, he couldn’t…it was just a kid.

“You killed him,” Jonas cried, “And now all I feel is pain. It hurts. Please, help me.” Jonas held out his hand for Rip, “Please, you said you’d save me.”

“No, no,” Rip tried to scoot back further. If he got touched he would turn into a mindless zombie as well. Rip watched as the team members get closer, “Let them go, please just let them go. We can help.”

“Take my hand,” the boy said, the insanity clear in his voice.

“No, stop. Just – just put your hand down,” Rip begged. He tried to go back further, but his leg hurt too much. Then he felt it, the gun behind him, the one Hex had earlier.

“Take my hand. Please.”

* * *

 

“Gideon? Gideon do you read me?” Rip tried his comms but there was nothing but static. His heartrate sped up, “Palmer! Tell me you all nearly have the plane fixed!”

“No, but we think we know what’s happening with our ghost,” Ray answered, “Considering he just locked us in the closet.”

“Tell me,” Rip demanded, “Gideon’s off comms. He might have gotten to her and Zee as well.”

“He’s disappearing, passing between two worlds,” Lily answered, “And a little less of him is appearing every time.”

“Well why is he targeting us?” Rip asked.

“Because he can’t get to Caitlin, she’s safe in the cage,” Ray said.

“Well then, I suppose it’s time to make her unsafe,” Rip said.

“What are you going to do?” Nate asked worriedly.

“Fix the problem,” Rip said. He closed the comms unit and opened the cage door. “Come on, we have to go. Now.” He held out his hand for her. Caitlin nodded and nervously took his hand. He grabbed her and hurried them off the plane. “I’m sorry,” he said as he made their way to the farmhouse in the distance, “I didn’t mean to scare you. But I’m afraid I needed bait.”

“And I’m it?” Caitlin asked.

“Yes, but nothing is going to happen to you. I just needed to drag our ghost friend away from my team,” Rip explained. “Come on, in here,” he opened the door and ushered her inside. He went to walk over to her when he felt himself thrown across the room.

“No, no, I’m sorry!” Caitlin cried.

Rip stared at the man in front of them and then back at Caitlin. “It’s not your fault.” The man charged for Rip and he easily dodged out of the way, managing to punch the so-called ghost in the face. That apparently just made him angrier.

“Ronnie?” Caitlin asked, “Is that you?” She stepped forward not noticing the perilous beam above her. Rip saw Ronnie hesitate before diving forward to push Caitlin out of the way.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” Rip said softly as he made his way over to Caitlin. He watched Ronnie growl at him as he disappeared in and out of the light. “Caitlin, I need you to tell him that I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Ronnie, he won’t hurt me, he’s trying to help me,” Caitlin told him. Slowly, Ronnie calmed down.

“Cait,” he said, his voice filled with anguish.

“Mr. Raymond, we believe you’re trapped between two worlds. This one and-”

“Hell,” Ronnie finished for Rip, “It’s hell. And I deserve it.”

“What do you mean?” Caitlin asked.

“I didn’t mean to, I thought I fixed it,” Ronnie shook his head.

“What did you do?” Rip demanded.

“It was just a few bolts. Loosened them, I just wanted you to visit,” Ronnie looked at Caitlin, “I fixed them, I thought I did!”

“Oh, Ronnie, how could you?” Caitlin said.

“And then they all started blaming you, wanting to hurt you. I couldn’t let that happen, I just tried to protect you. I didn’t want this,” Ronnie insisted.

“But people died, and now you’re just hurting more people,” Rip said. He looked outside and saw the lights of his team members coming in. “And it’s hurting Caitlin. You are clinging onto her and dragging her down with you, and she deserves so much better than that.”

“You do,” Ronnie said as he looked at her, “I’m sorry.” Caitlin just continued to cry as she called his name.

“You have to let go,” Rip said. “Before my team comes and makes you. Just let go. You want her to be happy and have a good life? You have to let go.” They watched as the man in front of them disappeared into the air again, this time for good.

“Cait, are you alright?” Zee yelled as she ran over to the woman. Rip stepped out of the way to give them their space, and avoided the sunshine twins as they brought out their science equipment to scan the place. Slowly he made his way over to Gideon.

“You okay?” she murmured.

“Fine,” he sighed, “You?”

“We’re alright.”

“Good.”

“What did you say to him?” Gideon asked as she took a step forward.

Rip tilted his head at her, “Same words you told me after Calvert.”

Gideon reached out and put a hand on his cheek, “You sure you’re alright?”

Rip touched her hand, “I will be.”

* * *

 

_7 years ago_

Gideon heard the gunshot and looked at the building. The local authorities moved past her and she followed them into the building. When she got to the room, her team members were in a dazed state, confused as to what was happening. But Gideon only had eyes for Rip, sitting in the middle of the room with the little boy in his arms.

“Rip?” she whispered as she touched his shoulder. He gave no response, only a glazed over look in his eyes. “We need first aid immediately!” she yelled at the people around her. Gideon turned back to Rip, “Come on, I know you’re in shock but I need you to get up.” She somehow managed to lift Rip up with Green’s help, she kept his arm around her shoulders to let him lean on her as they walked out of the building. “Your leg doesn’t look good, sit,” she ordered as she positioned him properly. Around them people were congratulating Rip, thanking him for his bravery, calling him the Cavalry.

Rip grabbed her hand before she could move away, a guilty and heartbroken look in his eyes. “I couldn’t save him,” his voice broke.

“You saved every single one of our agents, Rip,” Gideon said softly.

Rip shook his head, “The boy – Jonas – he didn’t know – and I couldn’t-”

Gideon was at a loss, she didn’t know what to do. It had always been the other way around, Rip comforting Gideon. Rip taking care of her. “Shhh,” she whispered, “She took his face and let him lean against her chest, stroking his hair. “It’s alright.”

“It’s not –it’s not – I – I failed – I can’t-”

“You have to let go, Rip,” Gideon soothed him, “We can’t always save everyone, you told me that once. Not even you, but we’ll get through this. Just let go.”

* * *

 

“Think she’s going to be okay?” Zee asked.

“Ms. Snow will be perfectly fine,” Gideon said, “Now that we know that it was in fact not a ghost from hell tormenting her, I’m sure she’ll be just fine.”

“Good. For what it’s worth, I think Rip will be fine too, one day,” Zee offered.

“I know he will be.”

“If anyone can bring him around, it’s you,” Zee said, “I mean, you get people.”

“I don’t actually, not in a slightest,” Gideon admitted, “My people skills – well let’s just say I’m a bit rusty at times. No, I prefer puzzles, I like knowing what makes people tick. But you, you are so good with people, Zee.”

“Was that a compliment, Gideon?”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Gideon teased, “But truly, you are. You wanted to help Renee, be a friend to Caitlin, find out what goes on inside of Rip’s head. You even figured out it was Ronnie, helped lead us right to him.”

“Yeah, well I’m full of surprises,” Zee joked.

“Not to me,” Gideon said quite seriously, “I wanted you to pay attention to this mission because I truly believe that one day, you could be really good at it. Even the best – maybe you’ll even get to rename it!”

“I shall dub it the welcome wagon in thy honor,” Zee curtsied with a fake British accent.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t just listen to that and instead take the compliment,” Gideon warned before walking towards the cockpit.

Zee shook her head followed her after a few moments. She saw Gideon leaning against the back of Rip’s chair and knocked on the door, “Mind if I join you?” Rip didn’t say anything, but moved his stuff off the extra seat to make room for her while Gideon gave her a grateful smile.  “Thanks,” Zee said. He simply hummed in response, his eyes fixed on the sky.

Somewhere in the hallway, Zee heard Ray yelling something about whipped cream and the bunks being off limits while Nate and Lily insisted they were innocent. Zee looked back at Rip who had a smile on his face.

“Seriously? That was rather childish, wasn’t it?” Gideon asked.

“Sometimes those are the best,” Rip shrugged.

“Not bad,” Zee commented flippantly, “But I bet I could do better.”

Rip raised an eyebrow at her confident look, “Well then, challenge accepted. Bring it on.”

Gideon rolled her eyes, “Don’t you dare start an all-out prank war on my plane, I swear!”

“Oh come on Gideon, let us have some fun!” Zee whined.

“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, Zee,” Gideon warned, “I know what Rip’s capable of. And the two of you – I think I feel myself needing another vacation sudden

“You could always hit up Aruba again,” Zee said.

“It’s a magical-” Gideon frowned when she realized she hadn’t even meant to say the words, “Place.” They just slipped out, just like every other time.

“Gideon? Are you alright?” Rip asked worriedly.

“Fine, I’m fine,” Gideon shook her head. She patted his shoulder, “I’ll be in my office, I have some work to do. Enjoy yourselves.” Rip continued to frown at her as she walked out of the room, a smile plastered on her face. She rested against the door inside her office and took deep breaths, a hand on her heart. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” She was here, she was alive. Gideon undid the top buttons of her shirt and looked at her scar, pressing her fingers to it. She was fine, she was fine, except…”I’m not fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos/Comment?


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